Women & Leadership Links

Women Count found that only 25% of the top 100 charities by income have female chief executives and only 17% of the top 100 charities by assets have female chief executives. This lack of gender diversity also applies to the trustees – four charities out of the top 100 by income have no female trustees and just 17% of chairs are women. Among the top 100 charities by assets, 12 have no female trustees and another 12 have only one female trustee.

4th Estate, a group that makes infographics about trends in the media, found that men overwhelmingly outnumber women when it comes to who is quoted in the press about the 2012 election campaign — even about issues that primarily affect women.

4th Estate’s findings were consistent with other studies about the lack of female representation in the media. Last month, the OpEd Project released a study concluding that men still dominate the majority of bylines on articles published in various types of news outlets. Another study, released by the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts in February, found that Sunday morning talk shows were overwhelmingly dominated by white men.

The increased participation of women in traditional politics in Latin America has made headlines for several years now. Last month, The New York Times published an analysis of the 2012 Women in Politics Survey of UN Women and the Inter-Parliamentary Union by Luisita Lopez Torregrosa. Torresgrosa highlighted the rising percentage of women in parliament and female heads of state in the region, including Costa Rica, Brazil, and Argentina. She and other experts attribute some of the advances to electoral quotas adopted in many countries and more general factors such as democratization, education, and public policies.

Currently, however, the presence of women in politics is more symbolic than anything else. These new women leaders are not transforming their societies in fundamental ways. Indeed, the feminization of politics in the region has not yet translated into the incorporation of feminist and women’s rights agendas, or even into improved conditions for the majority of women.

Village elders in south-east India have ordered a young woman to be ostracized for 60 years because she took a menial job as a sweeper despite belonging to a higher caste.

Ms Rajak broke her community’s strict caste rules because her elders believed she had stigmatized them by associating them with one of India’s lowliest and most shunned castes. Some higher castes still believe it is polluting to even lay eyes on a chamar while others insist on calling a priest to ‘purify’ their homes if a Dalit has crossed the threshold.

Her father, who owns a small bicycle repair shop and is himself an elder of the Dhobi community told the Hindustan Times he was standing by his daughter. “Instead of appreciating her efforts to find a job, the community is punishing us,” Budhulal Rajak told the Hindustan Times.

“The women of Afghanistan serve as a bulwark against the return to the darkness of the nineties. This esteemed group of leaders, and your sisters who couldn’t be here today, willing to step forward, speak out, and stand firmly in defense of your nation, its security, and the possibility of a brighter future for all Afghans – you are role models with an impact felt both in your country and beyond.”

Allen pointed out the increasing numbers of women joining the ranks of the ANSF and civil service.

“By stepping forward to serve, you are strengthening the linkages between the Afghanistan’s government and civil society,” Allen said.